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Mittleider Method?
Anyone here have any experience with the 'Mittleider Method' of gardening? See: http://foodforeveryone.org/ I'd never heard of it before happening on the website when looking for something else. If you have any experience with it, would you recommend it? Pros? Cons? Specifically, has anyone used 'The Garden Wizard' software ($9.95)? If so, did you like it? (http://foodforeveryone.org/Merchant2/garden_wizard.mv) I use a piece of software called SeedPlanner (http://www.seedplanner.com) and I like it a whole lot. Seed Planner is a planner/scheduler, and a dandy program, IMHO. But it doesn't plot out the physical arrangement of the garden. That's why I'm interested in 'The Garden Wizard' which can (I gather) be used for planning the physical arrangement, i. e. what goes where. I'm using tire-planters and will continue to do so, but they are analogous to grow-boxes (i.e., three square feet of surface area is three square feet of surface area, whether the grow-box is square or round). Thanks. Pat |
#2
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Mittleider Method?
When last we left our heros, on Thu, 28 Aug 2003 12:07:00 -0400,
Pat Meadows scribbled: Anyone here have any experience with the 'Mittleider Method' of gardening? See: http://foodforeveryone.org/ I'd never heard of it before happening on the website when looking for something else. I've never heard of it, either, but from the information on the web site it looks like a lot of hype, a lot of chemical fertilizer, and a lot of expensive irrigation equipment. That's not the way I want to garden. I want to work with nature as much as possible. I'd be curious as to what someone who has read some of the books says, too. Pam -- We are like genitals unto the gods; they play with us for their amusement - Black Adder |
#3
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Mittleider Method?
On Fri, 29 Aug 2003 00:38:11 GMT, Pam Rudd
wrote: I've never heard of it, either, but from the information on the web site it looks like a lot of hype, a lot of chemical fertilizer, and a lot of expensive irrigation equipment. That's not the way I want to garden. I want to work with nature as much as possible. I'm interested in the micronutrients, this being an area of gardening I've probably neglected and I'm always willing to learn new techniques. I joined their mailing list (at Yahoogroups) and will see what I think. I'd be curious as to what someone who has read some of the books says, too. I'll request that our library get me a couple of the books on inter-library loan. If the library manages to get any of them, I'll post a 'book review' here. I think *most* people who have good results with a particular technique (and write books about it) tend to become dogmatic. But I often find I can adapt others' ideas to my particular circumstances, and gain something useful from them in spite of this. Pat |
#4
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Mittleider Method?
Pam Rudd wrote:
When last we left our heros, on Thu, 28 Aug 2003 12:07:00 -0400, Pat Meadows scribbled: Anyone here have any experience with the 'Mittleider Method' of gardening? See: http://foodforeveryone.org/ I'd never heard of it before happening on the website when looking for something else. I've never heard of it, either, but from the information on the web site it looks like a lot of hype, a lot of chemical fertilizer, and a lot of expensive irrigation equipment. That's not the way I want to garden. I want to work with nature as much as possible. His feritlizer recommendations are based on having crappy soil. Starting from zero makes it easy to calculate the numbers. However, I see very little note of the trace elements a soil needs or the bacteria to make it all available to the roots. I could find no mention of pH as an agent in nutrient availability. His mix of hydroponics and soil-based agriculture consists entirely of bathing poor soil with purchased nutrients already in solution (viz the weekly feeding / daily watering). He shows no concern for the effect this has on either the water table or the soil structure and no awareness that most soils are quite capable of producing well if properly cared for. It is certainly an environmental mis-step and likely an economic one as well. The sites of his test gardens provide abundant quantities of organic material. Soils such as that respond incredibly well the first couple of years they recieve supplemental fertilizers ... that's what happened in the US midweat in the early decades of the past century. Then come the dustbowls. sarcasm But who cares ... 'they' live in Ecuador and are 'only peasants anyways'. /sarcasm I'd like to see documented yields in that soil over a 5 year period as the existing organic material is depleted and I'd also like to see documented costs of production per unit of yield over that same time frame. I note that Mettleider is recommending bed widths of 18 inches and path widths of over twice that. Thus, less than 1/3 of his soil is actually under cultivation ... the rest is wasted on paths. This is an exceptionally poor use of resources or, as he would say "inefficient'. In my own garden, slightly less than 1/2 is in paths and I could have improved on that except that I wanted to leave room for a wheelchair in the future, should need ever arise. Thus, without a single degree or prestigious financial grant, my garden starts out 18% more efficient than his. And, with 4' of loose, biologically active, water and nutrient retentive soil beneath the plants, I never give that advantage back. I hereby declare a quack alert. Bill -- Zone 8b (Detroit, MI) I do not post my address to news groups. |
#5
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Mittleider Method?
On Sat, 30 Aug 2003 13:46:06 -0400, Noydb
wrote: His feritlizer recommendations are based on having crappy soil. Starting from zero makes it easy to calculate the numbers. However, I see very little note of the trace elements a soil needs or the bacteria to make it all available to the roots. I could find no mention of pH as an agent in nutrient availability. I don't think this is entirely a valid criticism, as the website puts a lot of stress on micro-nutrients (as does the mailing list, so far). They sell a (reasonably priced) micro-nutrient supplement. I'm interested in this, because I've never known what micronutrients a soil might need and I don't want to go mixing up a lot of different - possibly difficult to obtain - substances. The sites of his test gardens provide abundant quantities of organic material. Soils such as that respond incredibly well the first couple of years they recieve supplemental fertilizers ... that's what happened in the US midweat in the early decades of the past century. I haven't yet seen anything on the site or mailing list that advises against use of organic materials - did I miss it? However, I definitely agree that organic materials are absolutely invaluable and will often be cheaper. Not always though. Then come the dustbowls. sarcasm But who cares ... 'they' live in Ecuador and are 'only peasants anyways'. /sarcasm I think this particular criticism is unfair, as this outfit is evidently working extensively in places such as Madagascar, helping people there improve their lives through gardening - assuming the website (with a lot of convincing photos) is true, and I am assuming that. I'd like to see documented yields in that soil over a 5 year period as the existing organic material is depleted and I'd also like to see documented costs of production per unit of yield over that same time frame. I note that Mettleider is recommending bed widths of 18 inches and path widths of over twice that. Thus, less than 1/3 of his soil is actually under cultivation ... the rest is wasted on paths. This is an exceptionally poor use of resources or, as he would say "inefficient'. It wouldn't be all that inefficient in my garden. I have two gardening choices and only two: 1. have wide enough paths to enable me to sit down on something to garden (I use a 'rolling garden seat' I bought from Lee Valley tools) - and not to have to leap up every few minutes, at that - (I have a lot of joint pain, including but not limited to degenerative disc disease in my spine.) 2. not garden at all I'm also not a very large or tall person, so about 24" is the extent of my comfortable reach. If we move - as appears probable - to an acre of land, I will not care HOW much space my garden takes up: space will be the resource I have in the most abundant supply. This isn't true for many people of course. But at least for me, it will probably be true. Even here - with property of a little less than 1/2 acre - space for our garden is quite adequate. In my own garden, slightly less than 1/2 is in paths and I could have improved on that except that I wanted to leave room for a wheelchair in the future, should need ever arise. That's interesting: what width beds and paths do you have? Thus, without a single degree or prestigious financial grant, my garden starts out 18% more efficient than his. And, with 4' of loose, biologically active, water and nutrient retentive soil beneath the plants, I never give that advantage back. I hereby declare a quack alert. I'm reserving judgment until I know more about it. At present, I think it's probable that I will gain some useful knowledge, especially in the area of micronutrients (which they stress, contrary to your post) and in watering techniques (which I know little about). Pat |
#6
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Mittleider Method?
Pat Meadows wrote:
On Sat, 30 Aug 2003 13:46:06 -0400, Noydb wrote: His feritlizer recommendations are based on having crappy soil. Starting from zero makes it easy to calculate the numbers. However, I see very little note of the trace elements a soil needs or the bacteria to make it all available to the roots. I could find no mention of pH as an agent in nutrient availability. I don't think this is entirely a valid criticism, as the website puts a lot of stress on micro-nutrients (as does the mailing list, so far). They sell a (reasonably priced) micro-nutrient supplement. I'm interested in this, because I've never known what micronutrients a soil might need and I don't want to go mixing up a lot of different - possibly difficult to obtain - substances. The first step, if you have any doubts about your soils ability to provide them in full measure, is to have a laboratory soil analysis done. It's neither difficult nor particularly expensive. Mittleider made blanket recommendations about applying fertilizer to soil of unknown fertility. That is, he doesn't know what the soil already has so he doesn't know what it needs (if indeed it needs anything at all!). Moreover his recommendation appears to be applied as a general worldwide fertilizer recommendation so it can only be based on what the plants need with no consideration for the soils' innate ability to deliver it. The sites of his test gardens provide abundant quantities of organic material. Soils such as that respond incredibly well the first couple of years they recieve supplemental fertilizers ... that's what happened in the US midweat in the early decades of the past century. I haven't yet seen anything on the site or mailing list that advises against use of organic materials - did I miss it? Is there any step in his process that would include them? As I read the site, he acknowledged (momentarily) the value of compost then brushed it away as being of little consequence. That web site exists to sell fertilizer, software and books. At least on the web site, he makes no attempt to add this material in the test gardens. From the picture series, the test gardens had been fallow before hand and were being used for the fist time in recent memory. They appeared to have good levels of green plants already growing on them. That means the soil was already fertile and plowing that green material under would have greatly increased its water holding abilities. However, I definitely agree that organic materials are absolutely invaluable and will often be cheaper. Not always though. The organic materials will almost always be locally available and always cheaper than imported fertilizer. His formula looks deceptively easy. After all, 1 ounce of copper isn't much, right? So tell me where are you going to get 1 ounce of copper in a form that will be easy to distribute throughout that batch of fertilizer? Except by using pretty good levels of math, how are you going to calculate how much of say, copper sulfate, to add to the mixture and how much of the sulfur he recommends you should leave out since the sulfate part of copper sulfate will account for some of the total sulfer in the mixture. If the people growing the test garden had those sorts of math skills it isn't likely they would still be trying to eke out a living in a vegetable garden. One of the neat things about compost (and related) is that the trace minerals are already in the raw material in the exact ratios needed by local plant life. No math ... but also little or no profit. Then come the dustbowls. sarcasm But who cares ... 'they' live in Ecuador and are 'only peasants anyways'. /sarcasm I think this particular criticism is unfair, as this outfit is evidently working extensively in places such as Madagascar, helping people there improve their lives through gardening - assuming the website (with a lot of convincing photos) is true, and I am assuming that. He's using variations on the same theme that caused the dustbowl. That's not as helpful as it might sound. Moreover, Madagascar doesn't make its own chemical fertilizer ... it has to be imported. Imagine the cost of fertilizer if we had to import it from Madagascar. Well, they've got to import it from us (or some other industrialized nation that has foundry wastes they can bag up and sell. Ask the people in India how they feel about the pesticides in their water table. This is the result of being 'helped' by the chemical companies. The Coca-Cola plant there recently closed down because the water contained too much lindane to be useable. Mittleider isn't helping anybody but himself. The people in Madagascar have been growing their own gardens since the dawn of time. It's not as if they are totally clueless how to feed themselves. By giving the soil a jolt of nutrients he is able to grow really nice gardens. But every year the jolt has to be bigger ... just like in the US ... until it reaches the point where all the additional productivity is spent on additional fertilizer but the soil itself is now so barren that the poor farmer / gardener can not risk not using it. I'd like to see documented yields in that soil over a 5 year period as the existing organic material is depleted and I'd also like to see documented costs of production per unit of yield over that same time frame. I note that Mettleider is recommending bed widths of 18 inches and path widths of over twice that. Thus, less than 1/3 of his soil is actually under cultivation ... the rest is wasted on paths. This is an exceptionally poor use of resources or, as he would say "inefficient'. It wouldn't be all that inefficient in my garden. I have two gardening choices and only two: 1. have wide enough paths to enable me to sit down on something to garden (I use a 'rolling garden seat' I bought from Lee Valley tools) - and not to have to leap up every few minutes, at that - (I have a lot of joint pain, including but not limited to degenerative disc disease in my spine.) I stand up to do all of my gardening. My back and knees won't tolerate stooping any more. My beds are 2' tall. 2. not garden at all I'm also not a very large or tall person, so about 24" is the extent of my comfortable reach. My garden requires no more reach than that and no stooping at all. If we move - as appears probable - to an acre of land, I will not care HOW much space my garden takes up: space will be the resource I have in the most abundant supply. This isn't true for many people of course. But at least for me, it will probably be true. Even here - with property of a little less than 1/2 acre - space for our garden is quite adequate. My whole yard, including house, drive and garage is only about 1/8 acre. Just a tiny little Detroit city lot about 50' by 65'. I have 280 sq ft under cultivation with 10' tall permanent trellises running down the center of every bed save one ... and it's going to be retrofitted this fall. Thus far I have 41 qts dill pickles, 9 pints salsa, 40 pints strawberries and 13 qts tomato juice along with a guesstimated 60# onions plus an unknown quantity of dried dill, oregano, mint (4 kinds) chamomille, basil (3 types) and sage. We also had far too much salad including mesclun mix and spinach, plenty of chives, bronze fennel, tarragon, coriander and rosemary. The hot peppers (jalapeno, aji cervisia and banana) and garlic have pretty much disappeared into the pickles. In my own garden, slightly less than 1/2 is in paths and I could have improved on that except that I wanted to leave room for a wheelchair in the future, should need ever arise. That's interesting: what width beds and paths do you have? I have 3'-4' beds accessible from both sides. Max reach is 24". Paths are about 3' wide. I would have to back out, but it could be done and, with a powered wheelchair, wouldn't be all that tough to do. Thus, without a single degree or prestigious financial grant, my garden starts out 18% more efficient than his. And, with 4' of loose, biologically active, water and nutrient retentive soil beneath the plants, I never give that advantage back. I hereby declare a quack alert. I'm reserving judgment until I know more about it. At present, I think it's probable that I will gain some useful knowledge, especially in the area of micronutrients (which they stress, contrary to your post) and in watering techniques (which I know little about). Pat The list of micronutrients runs quite a bit longer than the 16 they want to sell. I do not claim that they do not stress micronutrients. They do. What they do not emphasize (and make no arrangement for) are the trace nutrients necessary in even smaller concentrations than the micro and macro nutrients they do mention. -- Zone 8b (Detroit, MI) I do not post my address to news groups. |
#7
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Mittleider Method?
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#8
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Mittleider Method?
Pat Meadows wrote:
On Sun, 31 Aug 2003 23:57:54 -0400, Noydb wrote: My whole yard, including house, drive and garage is only about 1/8 acre. Just a tiny little Detroit city lot about 50' by 65'. I have 280 sq ft under cultivation with 10' tall permanent trellises running down the center of every bed save one ... and it's going to be retrofitted this fall. Thanks for the thoughtful response, which I've read with great interest. Putting the trellises down every bed is an interesting idea, it would obviously give you the flexibility to trellis or not throughout the entire garden. This idea could be incorporated in my tire-garden by simply running a row of trellising down the middle of each double row of tire-planters. What *kind* of trellises do you use? Made of what material? Thanks. Pat I have 2x4's set into the ground 24" with a 2x4 spreader across the top. To this I have stapeld vinyl covered 2x3 wire fencing. I wanted a larger grid (to reduce the amount of veggies getting trapped in that small hole) but this was all I could find locally at the time I put the trellis in. I would much have preferred a 4x4 or 6x6 mesh, but it wasn't to be found when I needed it. I hope I haven't presented myself as too much of a smart-alec. Mittleider reminds me of Jerry Baker and that is not a favorable thing. Bill -- Zone 8b (Detroit, MI) I do not post my address to news groups. |
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